Now, I'm In Trouble
by The Outsiders EXPERT-101
Summary: Ponyboy didn't mean to, but when he is given no choice but to pull the trigger, things go haywire and he is again sent out to hide until things clear up:Will Ponyboy be sent to prison?Will he even get to see Darry and Soda again?I DONT OWN THE OUTSIDERS!
1. Chapter 1

I stood there, my back up against the cold rock wall, beads of sweat rolling slowly down my face. Everything seemed to slow down the minute I slipped my hand shakily into my pocket. The Socs were all closing in on me… Take a deep breath, I thought. I felt the smooth round surface of the heater, chills going down my spine. My heart beat faster and faster every time I went to the thought of doing it.

One of the Socs flipped out his switchblade and held onto it lightly, a sinister smile crossing his face; his eyes were locked on me, as if he was trying to paralize me.

" Don't worry, it will only hurt if you struggle," another Soc whispered creepily. I felt my face go whiter than ever. Please don't make me do this, please don't make me do this, PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME DO THIS! I remembered what dally told me. *get tough like me and nothing can touch you…*.

All of a sudden, a Soc leapt for me and without thinking I yanked it out and pulled the trigger. **BOOM!!** I screamed and dropped the gun on the ground. I was terrified yet relieved to find out that I didn't kill anybody. The Soc was grimacing and cussing me out while running to the mustang with the other Socs, holding his throbbing hand close to his chest. I could see the blood running down his hand and dripping to the ground.

I looked at the gun, watching the gunpowder smoke rise into the crisp, cold air slowly. I felt my head swim, trying to remember what just happened. I picked it up gingerly, breathing hard, thinking about what Darry and Soda were gonna say.

I could already hear the cops in the distant background running their sirens. I turned and ran as fast as I could down Sutton. I ran for about three blocks before I could see my house. I ran faster holding the gun tightly, making my knuckles whiter than anything. I jumped over the three stairs we had that lead up to our front porch and bolted through our door. I spun around and slammed the door shut, tears welling in my eyes. I was overcome with a cold sweat, my palms clammy with perspiration.

"Ponyboy… Is there something wrong?" Darry asked slowly. I turned to him quietly sobbing and held the gun up so that not only he could see it, but that Soda, Two- Bit and Steve could see as well. Darry's eyes went wider than ever, he stood up ever so slowly. Soda gasped and seemed to freeze in his position on the couch as well as Steve, Two-Bit's mouth was hanging open, a devastated look on his face. I was shaking tremendously and shook my head from side to side, tears of fright going down my face.

"I didn't mean to…" I couldn't get anything else out of my mouth. Darry held his hand up and kept transitioning his glance between me and the heater.

"Pony, just put … the gun … down …" Darry asked in a small voice. I dropped it and started crying uncontrollably. I fell to my knees and rocked myself back and forth trying to calm down. Soda got up, walked around the gun carefully and pulled me towards him. He started stroking my hair and held me tightly.

"Ponyboy tell us what happened." Darry asked firmly. Soda let go of me. By that time Two-Bit and Steve were surrounding us, listening attentively. Again, I drew in a deep, shaky breath and told them the story quietly, stuttering from time to time.

"So you didn't kill anyone?" Soda confirmed.

"Yeah…" I said, feeling a little better. I turned to my oldest brother. " Darry, I'm scared…" I whispered, a sick feeling growing inside the pit of my stomach. Darry told me to come here, so I crawled over to him. He wrapped his arms around me as I quietly started sobbing again.

"Shh, baby, shh. It's okay, you didn't kill anybody so it's not like they can put you in the electric chair-" I pushed myself away from Darry, realizing what his words truly meant.

"YOU'RE GONNA TURN ME IN!?!?!?!" I screamed. Darry, I guess, didn't realize what he had said until up to that moment.

"NO!! Ponyboy, I'm not going to turn you in!!!!" Darry said quickly. I calmed down a little bit, Two-Bit offered a weed and I was glad to take it. "Okay here's what we're going to do. Ponyboy I'm gonna take you somewhere out of town and there you're gonna bury the gun, okay? And then you and Two-Bit are gonna set off to Iowa. I have enough money for the tickets and for some food. Two- Bit I want you to take care of my brother, you hear? Once I've got everything straightened out I'll come get you, or Soda will. You got it? Pony, I know that you know where mom and dad's trailer is in Iowa. It should still be there, so when you get there close all the windows, shut all the blinds and once you've got all the food, don't even dare open the door unless I or Soda do the whistle, K?" everyone nodded their heads and I went off to go get ready for bed.

"Pony, you and Soda are sleeping with me in my room alright?" Darry said. Once again I nodded my head.

As I lay in Darry's dark room, I wondered if this time it was gonna be like what happened in Windrixville. My eyelids fell heavy with sleep and I started slipping into a dreamless slumber, wondering whether or not if I was gonna be sent to rehab or juvenile prison.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning I was gently shaken awake. I sat up tiredly and rubbed my eyes.

"Pony, c'mon we gotta go!" Darry said. He quickly walked out of the room. I took a second to just take it all in; I guess I really was running away again.

I hopped off the bed and clumsily put on a new pair of jeans and Soda's faded red and cream plaid shirt, trying not to trip over the dirty clothes lying around on the floor. *Note to self, clean up room when I get back*. I hurried to the living room and saw Darry, Soda, and the gang there, waiting. There was mom and dad's old black luggage already packed up. Darry looked up when I entered the room. I looked at the clock. It read 4:30am.

"Okay, so everyone still remembers the plan, right?" Darry clarified. We all nodded our heads; Darry went on. " That's good. Ponyboy when we're done, Soda is gonna ride with you and Two-Bit to Iowa, just to be on the safe side. He won't stay for long, but he'll be with ya'll for a little while." I closed my eyes and almost dropped to the floor from exhaustion, but Soda kept me standing upright.

"C'mon, Pony, you can sleep when we get there all right?" Soda said reassuringly. We all went out to the car and filed in, all except Dally and Steve. Darry told them something, but I was too tired to figure it out, then hopped in the driver's side. As soon as he started the car engine, he turned to face me.

" you got the gun?" he said in a low voice. I looked in my jacket pocket and saw the gun. I nodded my head, then Darry turned around and stepped on the gas pedal harder than ever. My back was slammed against the car seat, but I didn't mind so much, since I had lost a lot of sleep(I had woken up earlier than before, and had a little trouble going back to sleep). It seemed like seconds before we had gotten there, but then Darry got out of the car, came to my side, opened the door, grabbed the gun, and took off before I could even think about what he was doing.

"Darry…?" I asked softly, but Then Soda pulled me towards him and hugged me. I felt tears run down my cheeks as I thought more and more about running away again. The last time I had run away, Johnny had died, and Dally died because Johnny was gone. What if I died? What if I never saw Darry or Soda or any of the gang again? What if Two-Bit died? I don't think I could handle losing him or any other person for that matter!!

Darry had gotten back into the car and started driving almost immediately. He seemed really pissed at something, but I could see the worry and fear in his eyes. It kind of gave him away.

"I'm sorry Darry…" I whispered. Darry looked in his rearview mirror at me.

"Don't be… it was just self defense…… like last time…" I think the last part of his message wasn't suppose to be to me, but I heard it anyway. We went to the train station in dead silence. As soon as we got there, Darry had given the tickets to the ticket person and had helped put the luggage on board. Two-Bit and Soda got on the train but I couldn't bring my legs to move up the steps. I stared at Darry, pain growing in the pit of my stomach. Darry pulled me towards him and hugged me fiercely.

"I-I-I d-d-don't wan-n-na go!!" I sobbed, trembling as I wrapped my arms around Darry to complete our hug. Darry just turned and kissed me softly on top of my head.

"I promise, it won't be for long, I'll come for you as soon as I can, okay?" Darry said in a small voice. I nodded and boarded the train. I couldn't stop crying, nor could I stop staring at Darry through the dirt stained window. 'I love you' I mouthed through the window. Darry mouthed it back to me tears welling in his eyes. I turned to Soda and buried my face in my hands sobbing uncontrollably. I can't believe it was happening again.


	3. Chapter 3

It had been an hour after we left the station, an hour since I'd seen my big brother last. The train was rattling and making loud whistles every once in a while, leaving long trails of grayish-black puffs of smoke. The train looked uglier than heck on the inside, with the faded brown colored carpet(of which look liked someone had poured coffee all over it and missed spots) and the worn out misshapen seats. There wasn't a lot of people on the train, but maybe that was because it was still early on in the morning.

Two-Bit was nowhere to be found, but I bet you anything he found some cute girl off in the other section of the train to talk to. Soda was sleeping with a sliver of drool creeping its way down the corner of his mouth. I gave a small, short laugh and leaned over. I gently wiped the drool away from his mouth, tiredly, managing to not wake him from his slumber. I wiped my hand on my jeans and continued to stare out the window, observing the crystal blue skies tainted with the golden outskirts of the beautiful sunrise. The sky was spotted with thin strips of off-white clouds and I could see a flock of birds fly in a V shape in the same direction as where the train was headed. I sighed. If I could've watched the sun rise and set over and over again, I would've. It always took my mind off of whatever the task was at hand. Soda had told me to get some rest because we wouldn't be getting off the train for a long while, but as always, I didn't do it.

The rolling green fields whizzed by me, and I could see some livestock and horses fenced in, as the train went on. At times I could spot houses, both off in the distance and just down the many assorted gravel roads, both large two story, beautifully painted houses that gleamed in the sunlight, and old, broken-down houses that looked as if they were going to fall apart at any given minute. Sometimes the scenery outside would be blurred by the oddly shaped circles of fog that my breath produced, so I had to wipe it down with my sleeves, even though I knew that it would soon get fogged up again after I had cleared it up. I had an odd flashback of when my parents used to take us(Darry, Soda, and I) camping in Iowa. How I loved to fog up the windows and try to stencil out the background, unaware that it was impossible to do so because the train was moving(but I was little and I didn't know any better).

I breathed on the window and started writing. At first I didn't know what I was writing out, but then I realized that I was spelling out Darry's full name: DARREL SHAYNNE CURTIS. My heart started aching badly and I gave a soft cry when the writing started to go away. I felt someone wrap their arms around my neck and I turned to see Soda looking at me with a sad smile upon his face.

"I thought I told you to get some sleep?" he asked as he fixed my hair up a little bit.

"I guess it just slipped my mind…" I answered and looked down at the ground. Soda sighed and messed my hair up again, causing me to laugh and mess his hair up in return.

"I swear… sometimes you're more scatterbrained than Two-Bit!!!" Soda said in between giggles as he sat up and stretched.

"ya and I swear the next time I find your creepy saliva peeking out at me when you're sleeping at a public transport, I won't clean you up like a baby!" I snapped, somewhat offended about the comment that he made about me. Soda stared at me and quickly wiped his mouth with his hand, looking a little embarrassed, then he turned to me. I knew he was going to make some smart-aleck remark about the way I looked, but Two-Bit came strolling in with an apple in his mouth. He took the apple out and threw it up in the air, which ended up bouncing off of the top of Soda's head and dropping to the ground. Two-Bit froze in place, probably thinking that because you were still meant that no one would know it was you who did it. I sighed; typical Two-Bit.

"OW!!" Soda hissed, rubbing his head, then he bent down slowly and picked the apple up. He turned and stared at Two-Bit with a look that clearly stated "you are the STUPIDEST person I've ever had for a friend." Two- Bit sat down in a seat across from us, ignoring Soda when he rolled his eyes, and took another apple out of his pocket. He tossed the apple to me, and I barely caught it, then took yet another apple and repeated the action with Soda. I started munching away at the apple, realizing how hungry I was. Soda turned the apple in his hand, looking at it suspiciously. He gave Two-Bit a curious look, cocking an eyebrow.

"I promise you, it aint poisoned…" Two-Bit said in a bored tone, taking out his new black-handled switchblade(he bought this one a couple months after the other one was disposed of by the police since they found it with Dally)and started polishing it with a dirty rag. I stopped eating the apple.

"But did you-" I started to say when Two-Bit cut me off.

"YES!! I did pay for it…" Two-Bit then shook his head and muttered something bitterly underneath his breath, but lay down in the seat and continued to polish his switchblade. I just ate the apple anyways, and pretty soon Soda shrugged his shoulders and took a bite out of his apple too.

The train finally arrived at our stop. It had gotten much brighter and hotter outside. Soda had told me to put my hood up, so that no one would recognize us or remember us if and when I came up in the news. Of course he and Two-Bit did the same thing, and we lugged our bags off the train, trying not to bump into other passengers getting off and boarding onto the train. I searched around for a clock to look at the time, and I could see one that was huge and was thick with a black outline sitting at the top of a tall, square brick column that read 12:34. Wow, I thought, noon already. When I looked around, I thought I lost Soda and started to panic but then I saw him ducking behind the big building, and I quickly followed.

When we reached the top of the grassy meadow(after we had bought two loaves of bread, a block of cheese, and twelve bottles of water) , I could see an old, dirty and abandoned trailer, with a faded CURTIS scrawled on the side in sharpie. I smiled. What good memories this place reminded me of. I looked at the patches of small white, purple and yellow flowers spread out across the field, remembering how Darry and dad used to play football out here, yelling, laughing and wresting with each other on the ground until mom came out and called them in for supper. I looked over at the tall, thin trees that lined up side by side a couple feet away from the trailer, and laughed aloud.

"What?" Soda asked, giving me a funny look.

" 'member when we dared each other to go to the bathroom in the woods over there?" I said in between laughs, pointing to a specific group of trees behind the trailer. Soda burst out into laughter and put his hand up to his stomach.

"Ya, I remember that… Oh man, mom and dad just about flipped a switch when I said you were going in…" Soda continued to laugh, and sighed. Two-Bit looked at us both with a look that had a mixture of disgust and puzzlement in it. I hitched my bag on my back and ran down the hill to my trailer, laughing all the way; for the first time since I was peacefully asleep with Soda's arm across my neck last night, I felt calm and happy with myself.

I opened the door and threw my bag in, which was followed by a huge crashing sound(of which I flinched at). I slowly climbed the stairs into the trailer and looked around. The smell wasn't too bad, and it was surprisingly cool and pleasant in here. Everything looked pretty decent, the kitchen area, the table and the rooms. THE ROOMS!!! I ran in to the bedroom where me, Soda, and Darry used to sleep when we came. It looked just the same as we left it; neat and tidy. I sat down on the huge bed and let out a sigh of content. Then I got up and went into the small hall area where Soda and Two-Bit were standing, looking around.

"Not too bad…" Two-Bit said, slowly smiling. Soda shook his head, put the food down on the counter and made his way over to me. He then put his arm around me and let out a sigh similar to the one I had made not even a minute ago.

"Well, you're gonna be here for a while Pone… I'm a be leaving tomorrow morning.." Soda said slowly. I felt my eyes get wide, my heart started pounding faster than its usual pace.

"What…!?!" I said, shaking. Soda looked down at me and hugged me fiercely.

"It'll all be over before ya know it!" He said, trying to calm me down. I could feel tears streaming down my face but I stopped after I saw the hurt expression on Soda's face when he saw me crying. "Oh, Ponyboy, I wish I could stay, but I only came along with to make sure you got here safely…" I nodded my head and looked at Two-Bit. He was trying to balance the block of cheese on the tip of his nose. I chuckled.

"I guess I have Two-Bit here to entertain me…" I said smiling as Two-Bit dropped the cheese onto his foot, yelped and almost stomped on the cheese in frustration, had he not looked at me and Soda, gave a small, uncomfortable laugh , and picked the cheese up. Soda, again, rolled his eyes and loped to our bedroom and I stepped outside for some summer air. This was surprisingly much nicer than in Oklahoma… but I really wanted to go home.


	4. Chapter 4

I explored the perimeter of the field, which was boxed in by steep-sloped hills and a massive wall of dark brown, wrinkled trunks. I observed the small, colorful butterflies flittering their wings and flying from flower patch to flower patch. Bumblebees buzzed and I could even hear the faint song of a cricket. As I gazed up at the bright sky I could sometimes see a bird pass by, spreading its majestic wings in the air to catch some speed. I could see a couple squirrels chasing each other playfully up, around and over the different sized tree limbs. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly and peacefully; I loved nature. It always made my body calm and my mind clear and recharged. Sometimes, you need to get away from all the stress and worry and just spend a day exploring the outside world; it really was breathtaking.

All of a sudden I thought I heard a twig branch being crunched underneath feet, and knowing that it definitely wasn't my feet, my head snapped instantly to the sound. It sounded like it was coming from somewhere inside the forest. I took slow cautious steps towards the towering trees, holding my breath in for as long as I could. As I came closer I reached for the switchblade in my back pocket(Soda lent me his, since I was going to be out in a deserted area) and I held it out, gritting my teeth.

"WHO'S THERE!?" I barked. No answer, so I stepped closer to the forest. I repeated my question, this time louder and firmer, like Darry does when I'm up on the roof at night looking at the stars and I accidentally stepped to hard on the shackles, knowing that I forgot to tell him where I was. Still no answer, and after contemplating on whether or not I should go in, I just turned my back to the forest and pushed the switchblade down my front pocket. I started heading back to the trailer, whistling so that I wouldn't scream out of fear that someone was going to come out and kill me from behind.

Of course, Soda made the sandwiches, and had managed to make them all look normal, but seeing as how he didn't have any access to any of the food that we had at home, I could see why… and if he _had_ made them look not normal, then we'd be wondering how in the world he did that… and I don't think we would've wanted to know. I quietly chewed my food wondering what Darry was doing right now, and if he missed me as much as I missed him… I felt bad, putting him through this again and I almost started crying again but I stopped because I knew that Darry wouldn't want me too. I caught Soda looking at me worriedly through the corner of my eye and so I hurriedly thought of something funny and burst into laughter.

"I don't know whether or not to be happy as you are… or worried… much less scared…" Soda said, laughing out loud then giving me a puzzled look.

"If I were you, I'd just let it slide the first time, then if he does it again then put him in a mental hospital… it's not like he wasn't crazy before." Two-Bit said sarcastically. I threw the rest of my sandwich at him angrily and got him on the nose. Two-Bit caught the sandwich before it fell to the ground and tried to throw it at me but it accidentally hit Soda right in the face, making him yelp. I burst into some more laughter and could feel my eyes water and face go red. I could feel someone pull me down and start tickling me and I started laughing even harder, my ribs and side aching.

'STOP!!!STOP IT!!!" I pleaded in between giggles as Soda just continued to laugh and kept my arms down, tickling me even more. I felt my lungs running out of air and I started wrestling Soda down, desperately gasping for air, and finally pinned him against the floor of the trailer after wriggling my wrists out from underneath his clenched hand.

"WHOA! When did you get so strong…?!" Soda asked in shock, as I looked at him; I was as surprised as he was. I knew that I could put up a good fight in a rumble, but if I was good then Soda and _especially _Darry would be better.

I was inhaling and exhaling hard. " I … needed… to… BREATH!" I said in between gulps of air. I let Soda up and gave a small laugh. I stopped and started rubbing my side. I felt light-headed and there was a small ringing in my ears… but I felt pretty good besides that; though Soda didn't think so at all because as soon as I lay down for a little while he spoke up.

"Pony? You okay…?" Soda asked in a small voice. I looked up at him and realized that he wasn't joking around. I sat up and nodded, giving him one of the biggest smiles that I've ever given out. Soda smiled too, got up and pulled me up with him.

Soda had thrown his arm around me, after showing Two-Bit where he was sleeping, and sighed. I grabbed his hand and held onto it tightly, remembering the fact that he was leaving early the following morning. He had pulled the blankets up over us with his available hand, and let out a deep, low sigh.

"Oh Pony, don't be sad…" Soda whispered; I guess he knew how I felt. I could feel his breath on the back of my head, and I felt the lump grow in my throat, and tried to keep my emotions under control as Soda went on. " I won't be gone for long… besides you might even enjoy not havin' me around for a change-" I started sobbing hard and held onto his hand tighter than ever. How could he say that!?! It was already bad enough that I didn't have Darry around to help me with things. "OH!! Shh… baby, please, shh… I didn't mean that…" Soda asked he got up and pulled me towards him. I couldn't stop crying, and I cried even harder, frustrated that I wasn't able to stop; it reminded me of Johnny, which only made me cry longer. Soda stroked my hair and tried to lull me asleep by speaking to me softly about all the good times we had as a family, both before and after mom and dad died.

After a while, I stopped, because I was too tired to keep going. I just lay weakly in Soda's lap, letting him continue to stroke my hair and rock me back and forth. I had soon lost control of time and when I woke up, the room was dimly lit by a darkened sun. my eyes flew open and I sat up in the bed. Where's Soda!?!, I thought quickly. I threw the blankets off of me and ran out to the kitchen and screeched to a stop. There was Soda packing a couple sandwiches with Two-Bit sitting criss-cross hunched over on the ground trying NOT to fall asleep. Soda looked up when I came in, and smiled.

"You didn't think I was going anywhere without saying goodbye, did you?" He said in a calm but tired voice. I felt the muscles in my body relax and I let out a sigh of relief, and started walking over. Soda threw his bag over his shoulder and gave me a big hug. "Try not to kill yourself out here, okay?" He said. Ever since Johnny and Dallas died, well it really goes back to when mom and dad died, I had been very… well, accident-prone, you might say. I was almost hit by a car about a month after I went to my parents funeral and I had strained my ankle a billion times both in track and during the gang's football games on Saturdays. Of course you remember I was jumped for the first time about seven months after that and I got jumped a few times after that. I almost got beaten up by letting some stupid remark pass through my loose lips, hadn't Darry been there to save me and I dropped a bottle on my foot a couple weeks ago in our living room. I'm not the person you want to be around when you're arranging glass items! But yeah… that really taught Soda and Darry to keep a close eye on me 24/7.

"Ya… I will…" I said in return. Soda ran his fingers through my hair and kissed the top of my head. I could hear snoring and turned to Two-Bit who was laying on the ground, sleeping. I laughed and Soda waved goodbye as he walked out the front door. I waved back and I felt my lips quiver, I then went over to Two-Bit and gave him a small kick in the side. He just slapped my foot away and turned his back to me, grumbling underneath his breath. I rolled my eyes and went over to the cabinets to make another sandwich for breakfast.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been three days since Soda left. You'd think that, in the middle of a summer day, it'd be stinking hot, but surprisingly enough, it was quite cool outside; the wind was blowing just soft enough to make the grass sway slowly to one side, and there were a lot of clouds, blowing forward along with the wind. Me and Two-Bit went outside to get some oxygen running through our veins, since we had spent the last two days inside vigorously playing poker. I didn't tell him about what happened the other day because I knew he wouldn't have understood how scared I was then, and he'd make fun of me until the end of all eternity; I'm a greaser, remember? And I have a reputation to keep. I mean, sure I can handle crying every once in a while in front of the gang, but only if I felt it was necessary, and I haven't cried at all in front of them.

"So, Pony, have you wrapped your mind on girls yet?" Two-Bit asked curiously. I just looked at him and cocked an eyebrow. No, I haven't really. Yeah, there was a lot of nice girls out there who paid plenty of attention to me, but then the next thing I know they show up the next day at school, hand in hand, with another boy. So I haven't really gotten that whole concept yet… besides, when Darry gets a girl then I'll start looking; but for now, I'm perfectly content with myself and myself only.

"No." I droned. Two-Bit put his hands up in an ' I'm sorry I asked' gesture and closed his eyes. I smiled and then thought of the many girls that he's dated. He used to date Kathy, but she had moved on, and so did he. Now it's a Ruth, I think. Or was it an Ellen? I don't know, I don't keep track of his love life. Two-Bit then sighed.

All of a sudden, I heard that noise again, this time it seemed closer. I stopped dead in my tracks, and froze.

"What?" Two-Bit asked in a loud voice. I stared into the woods, and all of a sudden I could see someone peek out from behind a tree not too far from where I was standing. I knew that they knew that I saw them because in a matter of seconds, they came out, a knife in one hand and a gun in the other, and attacked. It looked to be a middle-aged man, a stubble of grayish-white beard covering his chin, and a pair of dark, cold grey eyes to match his torn black jacket.

Two-Bit bolted towards me and started towing me towards the trailer. It wasn't any use to even try, because the man had caught up with us and pounced on Two-Bit. They wrestled each other on the ground, and I was too stunned to move.

"RUN!!!RUN, PONYBOY, RUN!!!" Two-Bit said in a strained voice, managing to hold the man down for a couple seconds. I could see the desperation in his face to try and keep the man down, beads of sweat rolling down his face. At first I turned to run but then, when the man had thrown Two-Bit to the ground and held the gun up to his head, I body slammed onto the both of them. The gun went off, but luckily it didn't hit anyone. I started punching and kicking the man as hard as I could, trying to use every last bit of energy I had so I could defeat this guy. All of a sudden the man had pushed me onto the ground and punched Two-Bit hard in the gut. My mind felt hazy with so many thoughts racing inside my brain and I struggled to get up again, trying to catch my breath. When I had just a moment to glimpse at our situation, I could see Two-Bit was getting beaten up pretty badly, but he just grimaced and kept fighting. I jumped on the man's back and gritted my teeth as I kept a firm hold tightly around his neck, trying to strangle him to buy time; but sadly, it wasn't enough. He threw me over his head to the ground and kicked me in the face. I opened my eyes weakly and saw in horror as Two-Bit was thrown to the ground once more, and knocked unconscious with the end of the knife.

"Two-Bit…" I pleaded in between gasps, crawling towards him. "Two-Bit, please…!!!" I could see Two-Bit open his eyes weakly and look at me before I was pulled up by the front of my shirt.

"You can't hide from me anymore…" The man said in a rough voice. He had a southern accent, and threw me on the ground once more.

"No…" I heard Two-Bit whisper faintly. The man bent down over me, gave me a revenge filled smile, and put his thumb over the bottom left corner of my neck, jabbing hard. I gasped, but I was then blinded by a white mist that took me away from my world for a while, and slowly let out all the breath I had built up in my lungs.

* * *

An insufferable pain from my wrists and ankles woke me up instantly. There was a stale, moldy smelling rag wrapped around my head, covering my mouth completely. I wiggled around in the wooden chair that I was bound too, but stopped after the pain had worsened. As my mind cleared so did my eyes. I was in a small room with grime covered walls, and a dust covered floor. Not only were the walls dirty, but they had several cracks and disoriented holes in some areas, a hanging light producing a dim, yellow beam on me. The floor was old and looked as if it had had all the liquid and color sucked out of it. The whole room looked lifeless, like a black and white figure in a painting, staring plainly at you, no smile, no silly hand gesture; nothing.

"So, you're finally awake…" a familiar voice said impatiently. I swiveled my head to the left and saw the man that had attacked me and Two-Bit earlier. I felt fear being struck through my nervous system and started screaming, since I couldn't hold it in any longer. The man's expression turned from bored to furious. He charged at me and clamped his hand over my mouth. It felt like he was trying to crush every tooth that I had, so I stopped and I felt tears run down my face.

"If you don't shut up, I swear-" he put a loaded gun up to my head "-I will pull this trigger, and honestly that'd be a shame for you to have to go to waste like that." I nodded my head shakily, begging in my mind for him not to kill me, and after a minute or so he put the gun down. I relaxed my shoulders just a bit.

The man paced back and forth across the room, scratching his chin every minute or so. Then he looked at me and let out a short, angry sigh. I could depict his features a little more clearly now that we weren't in a blind fury to knock each other down. His hair was white-grey, but I could spot several tufts of it being a dark brown, or even black. He seemed no taller than I was, 5 feet 11 inches, though he looked older than my history teacher, Mr. Esario, who would be retiring soon. He had on thin, mud-brown suede shoes that looked as if he had put them through the wash a billion times. He was wearing blue jeans and a black t-shirt, similar to the one Darry had, but, more stretched out and longer.

"Ponyboy… such a stupid name…" The man said in disappointment, giving me a penetrating stare.

"HEY!" I tried to say in protest, but all it really sounded like was a humming noise. The man then pointed the gun at me again.

"WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT KEEPING THAT TRAP OF YOURS SHUT!?!" He said menacingly, his eyes wide with an everlasting supply of madness and rage. I looked down at my lap and stayed quiet. I don't use my head a lot of the time, like I've mentioned before, and now I know why it bugs Darry so much… It's what's going to get me killed sooner or later in life.

"You don't know me… but I CERTAINLY know you… and your parents." The man continued on, studying me closely, like we did to this frog held in a glass jar during science class. "You look like your mom, yet you have so many of your dad's features… I never knew that David and Margaret had a third kid until I heard your name mentioned in the news a couple months ago." Who exactly was this old fart and how in this universe did he know my parents?!

He studied me even closer. "Man, you look a lot like your oldest brother, Darrel, you know that?" He said in shock, snorting with laughter. I've never heard anyone say that before; everyone's always been saying things like "You look like Soda", and "Wow, you and Sodapop are like twins, except you're younger!", but never did I hear them make connections between me and Darry about my looks. I started to get uncomfortable; with the whole him staring at me and making comments, I mean.

"But that doesn't matter… what matters is the reason I kidnapped you and dragged your nauseous butt down here." Why did he kidnap me? Was there a specific reason he had in mind? There must've been, since he seemed to know so much about my background. And now that I've been around him for a while, he started looking vaguely familiar, like when you bump into the same person twice at the mall or something.

The man walked up to me and gave me the coldest stare that I had ever received in my fourteen and (almost) a half years of living. " I'm gonna make you a little deal. You answer all my questions truthfully, and I, in return, won't put this bullet through your heart." He whispered creepily. His breath smelled awful and I tried so hard, first of all not to make a comment on it, and second of all not to laugh at the comment I was going to make.

"Got it?!" I nodded my head quickly, and he smiled. "Well okay then." He untied the rag from around my mouth and bunched it up in his enclosed fist. I still kept my mouth shut, remembering Soda telling me to not kill myself.

"Where's you parents?" He asked nonchalantly, playing with the rag inside his hand. I licked my lips nervously before speaking.

"They're… they're dead…" I said shakily. The man looked surprised, then slapped me across the face. It reminded me of when Darry hit me for coming home late that one night; I felt real scared and hurt.

"Don't even try and lie to me, I know your parents are alive. WHERE ARE THEY!?!" He gripped the top of my shirt and pulled me up, and repeated his question.

"They're dead!" I said, trying hard not to start crying from the pain I felt. He dropped me(more like threw me), walked across the room swiftly and punched the wall so hard that the wall crumbled, and I could see bits of rubble drifting down towards the floor in a hurry; my eyes grew wide, and I realized that he had both the heart and the strength to kill me.

He strode towards me and bent down, looking at me straight in my eyes with his.

"I am going to ask you one more time: where are your parents!? I know that you've moved from Iowa, so don't even THINK about trying to trick me with your foolish nonsense boy!" The man repeated airily. I could feel the horrible smell climb up my nostrils and I remembered the comment I was going to make on it earlier and started laughing; wrong move. He gritted his teeth and slapped me again, except this time with his gun, which made the pain a billion times worse. After that he pushed my chair backwards and kicked me in the ribs, making me scream in pure agony. As I lay there gasping, he unexpectedly cut me loose from the chair, and after that had happened I wished that I was tied to the chair instead.

He grabbed me by my upper arms and slammed my back against the wall. I started sobbing, telling him desperately that I was telling the truth. I wished so badly for Darry and Soda to be here with me, helping me.

"LIAR!!!" He yelled again, and he threw me against the floor. I tried to get up, feeling blood dripping from the corner of my mouth and the pain in my arms throbbing, making my proposed action much harder to accomplish; but I had been too slow to do it. The man grabbed me and punched me in the face a couple times while I tried to block with my crossed arms. After that he then again took hold of my arms, squeezing harder than anything, and shook me tremendously. The room was spinning around me in a white swirl, and the pain I felt in my chest, head and arms didn't help.

"Okay then. Since your parents are 'dead', then where are your brothers, hm? Because I know that that boy back there with you wasn't one of them." He continued, gripping my arms tighter. I didn't want to tell him where they were. I didn't know what he wanted with my family, but I wasn't about to let his plan continue.

"I'm not telling you," I tried to say with determination, thinking of how proud the gang would be of me if they were here. His eyes glowed with rage, and I knew that I wasn't going to be able to see my brothers again if I kept it up; but they would be safe, and that's all that matters to me. He threw me down to the ground again and started beating me up again, and I tried desperately to defend and protect myself, but after a while I felt myself give into the pain that had been pulling me down for a long time now.


	6. Chapter 6

When I awoke, I was in a pitch-black, musty place. My whole body ached badly and I was leaning weakly against the cold wall, my legs bent in an ackward position on the ground; my hands laid across my body, shaking immensely, and my head resting against the wall as well, hanging at the same time. I could feel two other walls, one on either side of me, and a wooden door in front of me. There was so much pain running through my body, I wished I was dead already. No one, especially a young kid, should have to suffer through this kind of torture.

my breathing was ragged and heavy, and I could feel my fingers twitch every so often. I tried moving my head, but I stopped when a stinging sensation buzzed through my face. I let out a small whimper, and felt the tears burn as they climbed over the many gashes and wounds that were embedded all over my bruised cheeks. I gulped, and wished crazily for my brothers, for the gang, to be here with me.

"Darry..." I cried out softly. All that I could hear was an empty, hopeless silence. When I opened my eyes, I couldn't see anything; maybe that was because I didn't open them, or maybe it was because it was darker than anything in here. I gritted my teeth, and cried even more. I didn't know where the man was, nor what he was doing, but I felt more petrified than anything. I was real afraid that he'd come back and beat me up again, but this time, he'd kill me.

All of a sudden, I heard a huge thud and a lot of clicking noises.

"FREEZE! PUT YOUR HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE EM!!!" I heard someone shout. There was a lot of voices after that, then I could hear a familiar voice; this voice sounded rough and had a hint of detirmination in it, but also worry and sorrow.

"Where is he?!" Darry said threateningly.

"Hopefully... gone." I heard the man who had kidnapped me answer drunkenly, chuckling underneath his breath. How long had I been in here? How many days have I been missing? my thoughts and questions were suddenly interrupted by a huge smack.

"TELL ME WHERE HE IS!!!" I heard Darry demand in a harsh tone. I felt my legs getting numb, and the numbness was creeping its way slowly up my body.

"I'm ... I'm here... Darry..." I whispered in a hushed tone. My mouth felt parched, and my tongue ached too much for me to continue.

"Wow... Darrel, I never knew you were this defensive over that itty-bitty thing. Don't worry about him... He's just fine- I mean, anyone would be if they were DEAD!" the man said in between chortles of disgust and amusement. He continued to laugh hysterically, and I could picture Darry's reaction to that. All of a sudden there were things being smashed and broken and it had finally stopped after a couple of minutes. The numb feeling had worsened and overpowered my body all the way up to my waist.

"You know... he is your brother... man! He wouldn't tell me where you were! Now aint that a sweet thing to do? Both of you have the most determination I have seen in all my years of living!!! I'm not lying!... Too bad I had to beat him to death for not doing the one thing he promised to do..." That remark was quickly followed by another slap; this one sounded harder than anything.

"Where... is... my... little... BROTHER!?!" I knew that the guy wouldn't tell Darry where I was, even if he was beaten brutally to death, so I raised my arm up weakly, putting all of my strength and energy into it, and banged as hard as I could against the door.

I tied to yell, though it didn't work, and just continued to bang my hand on the door some more. The numb feeling had almost engulfed me by now, and I felt my body sag against the wall, my eyes droop close, and my head hang drearily, my heart beating slower and slower within each second. At first, I thought that I had failed in trying to get Darry's attention, but all of that was soon eradicated when I heard the door being opened.

"PONY!" I heard Darry cry out shakily. I flinched as he brushed his fingers against my face gently, letting me know he was here. The numb feeling had gotten up to the base of my neck.

"Pone? Come on Ponyboy! Please don't give out on me... please... I'm here now babe..." Darry pleaded desperately, slipping his arm behind my back. I screamed out from the pain that was growing on the inside of my chest. Darry had pulled me up and leaned me against him.

"I... I'm so... sorry..." I managed to say. I felt my heart give its last beats of life through me, and before I felt the pain drown me completely in the ongoing darkness I had slipped in and out of, I was able to hear my brother's loving and caring voice for the very last time.

"No... Ponyboy, please... no please! NOT MY BABY BROTHER, PLEASE!!!" Darry begged in between gasps and sobs, holding me close to him and stroking my hair. His voice seemed to fade away, and I was taken beneath the surface of my life.

* * *

**_THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS!!! I will try and update soon for I need to figure out whether or not I want to kill Ponyboy _**

**_off for good or not... so if you have any questions or suggestions PLEASE feel free to PM me about it!!! I'm open for discussion and I will _**

**_try and answer back if I'm not online to actually see the message you sent!!! *giggle giggle*. Also, I am a BETAREADER if you are _**

**_looking for someone to check over your work!!! So ya!! :)_**


	7. Chapter 7

I could feel a warm breeze sweep lightly across my face, bringing the faint scent of pine trees intertwined with green grass. I faced the palms of my hands down to feel the soft and cool strips that withheld me from sitting up, and exhaled softly. I smiled and opened my eyes to find myself lying down in a meadow. The untainted sky was brightened by golden rays emitted from the sun, of which was dipping down below the horizon, turning the sky into some of the more darker hues that are produced by spectrum lights.

I finally found the strength within me to sit up. The view was even more breathtaking with the silent humming of nature's composed tunes and the faded laughter and joys of baby birds just learning to fly . The meadow had stretched out for miles into the distance, like back at the field in Iowa. This one seemed to have more of a lively, yet peaceful, sentiment; effervescent with an occasional monarch floating gracefully above the most beautiful group of flowers. Crickets were singing to each other to the rythm of the wind, adding to the sound of music.

I suddenly heard vociferous commands and rough laughter echoing from behind me, and I eagerly turned around, wondering if my ears had proved me wrong in what my thoughts had been, and still were, telling me.

"Man, Darrel, I wouldn't be surprised if you become one of the most famous football players in history!" a tall, mirror-image of Darry said to a different, younger looking, mirror-image of Darry. It was then that I realized that it was my own father talking to 18-year-old Darry. I felt my heartbeat's acceleration increase as I caught my dad's eyes meet mine, smiling tenderly.

"Ponyboy, what is it? You look like you're gonna start screamin' for joy!!!" Darry hollered teasingly, starting his way towards me, a small, dilapidated football tucked beneath his left underarm. He was just a bit slimmer in size, yet his build was chiseled to perfection from football practice and games. His tattered jeans matched the brown plaid shirt he was wearing, and soon enough he was standing in front of me, looking down with a pride-filled grin and blue eyes that were once again, stress-free. I kept staring at him, trying to recover from the shock and delusion I seemed to be having internally.

"HELLO!!!-" he pretended to knock on my forehead "- ANYBODY HOME!?!"He burst into laughter as I felt my face fall red, but instead of pushing him out of the way or whacking his shoulder with the back of my hand, I pitched forward and threw my arms around him, squeezing harder than anything. I was filled with a mixture of sorrow and happiness, and I could feel tears fill my eyes.

"Oh Darry, I'm so sorry! Really I am! I promise I won't ever shoot that soc, or hold a gun ever again PROMISE!!! Please, just don't send me away again... PLEASE!!!" I said in between sobs, wondering how close I was to being seperated for all eternity from him. He awkwardly started rubbing my back in gentle, soothing circles. All of a sudden, a cold chill ran through me, causing me to tear myself away from Darry. Then, everything started falling away, piece by piece, into the unending black hole beneath my feet. Darry and Dad had both noticed, and were running towards me, when all of a sudden they too had fallen into the darkness.

"NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, stretching my hand out to try and catch them. Then an uproar of burning timber came into play and what was once a field of fresh grass and musical insects was now a fun house of fire. I screamed in horror and started backing away from the growing bundles of heat that were glowing with intentions of burning me to death, until I felt my back start burning and whirled around to find myself being cornered with fire. I tried looking for ways out of it, but to my big misfortune, there was no escaping it.

My body started aching from how much extra unwanted heat it was recieving. My breathing grew shallower and my mind was racing with solutions to getting out of this place. After getting used to the fact that I wasn't and couldn't ever go anywhere but stay put I sat down and watched, with a sickened feeling, as the fire grew closer and closer to me, making beads of sweats pour down all over my face. My hair started sticking to my face and I felt each breath I gave grow shorter and shorter. I finally grew very tired, and lay down, trying so desperately to gain some coolness to bring my body temperature down, but yet again I had no luck in getting any; the ground was as warm and humid as the air that was suffocating me.

"Darry..." I gasped. "Darry... help..." Again I was stuck in the same position that I was back when I was kidnapped. My vision began to blur and I noticed that I had stopped breathing; no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't suck in a breath. I finally felt the heat overcome me, and before I was burned to death I let out a high pitched scream from excrutiating pain.

* * *

I was suddenly yanked from fantasy to reality, though I don't know what you'd call that, but I certainly WOULD NOT call it a fantasy.

"SODA GRAB A DAMP TOWEL!!! HURRY!!!" Darry shouted impatiently. My breathing was ragged and I could feel someone propping me up against them; I clenched my teeth, trying to grab ahold of something that would reassure me in knowing that I was, in fact, awake, and for good. The blinding bright light that forced my eyes to be closed made things unproportional and disoriented; it was hard to figure out what I was sitting on and what all the banging around was for.

"Darry...? Darry where are you?" I whispered in a hushed and frightened tone, an uneasy knot forming in the pit of my stomach.

"It's gonna be okay, Pony, okay? The doc'll be here soon... I promise..." Darry answered softly in my ear, trying to calm me down. I wondered where in the world I was, and how long I had been here; how long had I been in this state?

My skin felt as if someone had placed me over a sparking fire place, all hot and moist from the sweat that continuously excreted from my body and stayed, making all the small hairs running up and down stick to me.

I let out a small whimper, fidgeting in Darry's caring arms, wanting so desperately to get cooler still, and frankly, Darry's arms weren't exactly the place to be when you wished so bad for something like what I had wanted then.

"Here..." I heard Soda say under his breath(there was a hint of guilt in his voice, mixed with misery and tiredness) and I could feel something ice-cold being gently pressed against my burning skin. I finally realized that the dream I had was all just an illusion; a mirage to stage a personal memoir of mine, and then to drop me in the deepest, darkest bottomless pit there was ever to be found in such a dream like that. My breathing became more and more relaxed and my body temperature had soon gone back down to normal. I opened my eyes wearily and looked up at Darry. He had on a worried and depressed look on his face, and tried smiling for my sake, a broken, weary smile, but nonetheless, a smile, and none other. Soda was sitting criss-cross right next to me, the same look(except magnified by 10x)on his face, stroking my arm.

We were on Darry's bed; I was tucked underneath the blankets while Darry was behind me, holding me up and stroking my hair(as well as cooling me down with the cold rag), and Soda was on the right of me, leaning on Darry, watching me, paying close attention to every fidget and twitch I seemed to do both voluntarily and unvoluntarily.

"Darry... What all did I say... before I woke up?" I said softly; I knew it was a little unusual and random to offer up a question like that in a situation such as the one I was in, but something tugged at me to say it, and I'm the type of person to give in easily to things like that. I was kind of surprised that I was able to talk pretty easily, though my throat stung just a little bit after every word uttered out of my mouth.

"Just go back to sleep Pony..." Darry said again in a low whisper, pushing strands of hair out of my face. I really wanted to know what I said; ever since I had gone delusional after Johnny and Dallas died, it's really been disturbing me about what I had said while I was asleep. I've become very conscientious about stuff like that, considering the fact that Two-Bit and Steve have _always_ wondered what I think about since I'm am now the quietest member of the gang. After contemplating on the matter of asking once more, knowing that I was that much closer to knowing what my delusional self had conjured up, I just let the subject drop and slumped in Darry's arms. I felt real tired anyways; you would be too if you had just been sent out to hide, kidnapped by someone you've never seen in your entire life, almost beaten to death, and then jerked awake from a terrible nightmare-NIGHTMARE!!! I guess I now just remembered what my nightmare was... and now I wish I didn't remember what it was about... because this would mean that I'd probably have to relive it in the near future until I figured out what it was that ticked in my mind for it to happen.

The last thing I remember was someone knocking at the door, but I was well in a deep and comforting sleep, leaning against Darry's chest as he quickly told Soda to go and see who was there.


	8. Chapter 8

_**The dawn was rising, peeking over the only edge in the world and breathing life into every sleeping witness of the victim's killer, singing Keiner weiss, wie es mir geht, keiner weiss, wie es mir geht bis ich sing, and there he lays- two angels hovering over him, tending to his every need and bowing to his every wake, thanking the heavens for his return from the restless slumber that so tortures him on a weekly basis. He wakes yet again-**_

* * *

PONYBOY'S POV

My life was more complicated than you'd ever imagined; finding yourself in such a situation as I had when I woke from a very strength-sucking blackness is very confusing. Yet somehow I was able to find two of the most devoted brothers in the world, kneeling on my left and stroking my hand as softly and as gently as they could, calm yet subtle hints of doubt and neglect hidden in the five days that they had survived without me awake, worry lines replacing each day. They were speaking in low voices, of which I could hear, but could not understand, for I seemed to be the subject of something I had never heard of before.

"He's gonna wake up soon, Sodapop, I promise you," Darry said in a sort of high-pitched tone.

"But what if he DOESN'T! Darry, I'm so scared for him... I thought they threw Slater in the jailhouse and now Pony's so close to death because-" he stopped and then continued"- _he's_ somehow escaped and we don't even know if he'll escape again!" Soda strained through closed teeth; I noticed something silver, glowing beneath his eyes, glimmering in the small beam of sunlight that traveled through the bleached curtain on my right. Last time I noticed something like that was when Darry had come and rescued me from my alleged kidnapper.

"Darry..." I whimpered. It felt weird to be in a hospital bed; not to mention the fact that I couldn't feel anything, just a small numb feeling running across my body. I could detect somewhat of pain, but it was deluded, sepressed by an overdosage of sleep and lack of physical contact.

"Ponyboy? Baby, you awake?" Darry asked in a small, hopeful voice.

"Who's Slater? I aint dead! ... am I?" I was so mixed up; a whole rushing wave of thoughts overpowered my brain like a tsunami. Darry and Soda exchanged panic-like expressions, Soda kept looking at me out of the corner of his eye.

"Soda why don't you go and get some food from downstairs for Ponyboy... um, here..." Darry gave Soda five bucks and Soda walked slowly to the door, his worried look turning into a pained look.

"Darry, what's going on? What's happening? Where's that guy who-"

"Shh... you ask way too many questions, and I think you'll pass out if you ask too much," Darry said quietly, scooting closer to me and running his fingers through my hair; his look softened sadly.

"What's going on?" I repeated.

"I'll explain to you when we're at home, okay babe? Right now let's discuss something a little less... um... well," Darry was twiddling his fingers, his eyebrows furrowing in deep concentration; I wondered what he was thinking about and I wish he'd say something.

"Soda told me you were... that you wrote my name on the window of the train..." He went on carefully; I felt myself stiffen a bit, everything was rushing back to me now, and I pondered specific memories. I really missed Darry then... that's it, that's all. What was there so special to talk about?

"Yeah..." I whispered. Surprisingly enough, I could feel one lone tear coming slowly down my face. I guess I missed him more than I remember.

"Ponyboy I'm sorry," Darry said with a heavy sigh, he then put his face in his hands and started shaking his head in a sad and slow motion.

"What for? You're not the one who shot that soc or the one who got himself kidnapped- I should be sorry for not using my head and dragging you through this mess. I mean for running away and for almost getting taken to a boys home and I- I just... ! It's my fault you had to come and get me... I don't even get why you'd save me- I mean, after all the trouble I've caused you-" Darry all of a sudden shot up and punched the wall. I remembered Dallas. Johnny dying and Dally heart-broken in the midst of it all... Darry was shaking; I was crying silently then, afraid of why it was that life had to be so pressuring; so together, yet so apart still.

"I DON'T EVER WANT YOU TO THINK THAT I WOULDN'T SAVE YOU!" Darry said turning around, giving me that same pleading look from the hospital and our parents' funeral. But this time, there was a little rage in them. I nodded my head, feeling more tears come down my face. Darry got back down on his knees and put his face in his hands.

"I love you Darry... You're my big brother, and I look up to you. Don't be mad at me...please," I begged softly. I tried to sit up, but then screamed and fell back down in bed, still letting out short screams and gasps. Darry's head shot up, and there was this crazed and worried look on his face; it was as if he thought I were dying or something because I had never seen him act this way at all. _I aint dying, Darry, don't worry_...

Darry had to adjust my pillow and blankets about a billion times before answering me. "Ponyboy- I know I'm not the best guardian in the world. And I guess there are times where I don't seem to be the best brother either. I'm still new to all of this. Being a guardian, takin' care of work, all those things. I worried about you night and day when you left the train station. I must've had about five cups of coffee each morning trying to convince myself that you were gonna be fine, only to find a bleeding and distraught Two-Bit at my doorstep to tell me that you've been kidnapped by a guy that mom used to-" Darry stopped. His voice had been getting faster and faster as he explained things. The abrupt stop confused me; that mom used to what? What does mom have to do with this? I felt my eyes wander off as I tried to fit pieces together. So far, all I got was a mishapen and abstract puzzle.

I felt so tired. I didn't want to figure out who this guy was. I didn't want to know what mom had to do with all this. I don't want any of this. I took Darry's hand in mine and squeezed it hard.

"Just rest Ponyboy," Darry whispered softly, stroking my hand. I nodded my head and tried to time my breathing to the ticking of the clock. It wasn't that long before Soda walked through the door with some Pepsi and bread. I ate it slowly as they talked to me about certain things. The Soc I shot was't majorly hurt, in fact he's home already. I had just barely missed him, and the bullet was found down the alley they backed me into. Though he says it wasn't my fault, if I hadn't fired they would've killed me(literally), his parents are going to take this to court and want me arrested. I could've choked when Darry told me the arrested part. The whole point of this is to stay with my brothers. I know I'm still in his custody but by the way Dallas described it, it did not sound like a place to be in.

"I've talked to the parents and they said they'll think things over," Darry said after a moment of silence. Soda nodded his head while stroking his chin.

"And how did they sound when you talked to them?" I asked a little frightened.

"Well I told them about what a good boy you are and all the trouble we've been through and about how high schoolers have been trying to beat you up many a time..."

"And?"

"They weren't mad. Just a little sad and paranoid about their son. They understood about our troubles and said they'd talk to their son about how the whole thing went and what happened and blah blah blah-"

"So, basically, their forgiving me?" I asked with hope.

"Well, I wouldn't be so sure, Ponyboy. The mom still seemed shaken up and the dad was still a bit hard with his words-"

"Oh," I said. I knew that this couldn't have gotten any worse for me- I may not have said that if I knew who was going to walk in through the door.


	9. Chapter 9

At first I didn't recognize him, though getting that first glimpse of him sparked something in my memory I just couldn't name at the time. It had been such a long while since I had even seen Soda and Darry and I couldn't tell who they were at first when I had woken up- save it be their gentle voices; those caring voices I heard everytime I was pursued by my nightmares or I was too afraid of something terrible happening to someone I loved. But as I focused more on the stranger's facial features I began to find the dreaded familiarity of his dark blue-ringed eyes and a slight grim expression of being in my presence. That was the expression of someone I had never wanted to see as long as I had lived for the rest of my life.

"Hello, Ponyboy," said the stranger in a naturally quiet tone. I felt myself get pale and I started backing up into the wall at the head of the hospital bed, trying to get as far away from him as I could. Soda wrapped his arms around my shoulders and squeezed them hard looking at me and the stranger- by that time he had been back already, but no food. Darry got up, strode over to the stranger and whispered something in his ear. The stranger nodded, then looked at me. Darry put a firm arm on the strangers back.

"WAIT! You _know _him?" I shrieked. How would he know the guy who I had mistakenly shot? The guy who had threatened to kill me? Of all the people he had to know (because he knew practically everyone) he had to know HIM?

"Ponyboy there's nothing to worry about-"

" OH YEAH SURE! There's nothing to worry about when being in the same room with the guy who I shot, who also evidently jumped me too, crippled and still recovering!" I burst out in a bitter and horrified tone. _Doesn't Darry know that this is the guy who made all this happen in the first place?_, I thought foolishly. I wasn't sure of whether or not I should be scared or angry at the stranger standing by my brothers- but I was being torn in half just trying to decide. That same stranger who had scared me into believing I had lost my brothers... That same stranger who had lead me to believing I would never be able to get home and see the gang ever again...

"Pony, this is Luke... Luke Yu..." _such an asian name_... I thought with jealousy rolling my eyes; when I had caught Darry's flash of warning towards me I quit it though. _He looks asian... _I thought observantly.

"Hi Luke..." I mumbled, waving a shaky hand towards him. Luke then relaxed into a smile- he no longer looked like that ruthless, give-him-no-mercy soc that had threatened to kill me in the alley that depressing night. It was as if he had these different sides to him... a pissed off side he always gave greasers, as all socs did... and now, he was showing a- a school friend kind of side, one who never really talks to you, but always smiles everytime you look his way because in some way, you and him were alike... and he knew that...

"You don't need to be sorry for... uh... you know..." he said slowly, twiddling his fingers. I looked down... Sheesh, you know even for a soc who was approved by my brothers to be in this room, he sure still made me feel awkward- like all socs did to me.

"Sorry..." I said involuntarily in a small voice. It seemed to make him laugh, and he looked at Darry and Soda for some guidance as to what to say next. Here comes that awkward feeling again...

"Luke helped us find you..." Soda spoke for him, running his hand along my back softly. Luke stared at the floor(making it look like he had spotted something absolutely fascinating like chinese penny or something) looking a little embarrassed, and Darry slapped his back playfully. He took it as a surprise, but smiled real big-like. _Huh, _I thought suddenly, _He has to be okay for Darry to do that to him!_

"Sure at first we didn't like him, but he proved himself true to the end!" Darry said proudly, as if he was reading my thoughts or something.

"He has no parents or siblings... He came to us because he knew what it felt like to not know where his family was," Soda added in a quiet tone, trying not to remind Luke, I'm sure of it; and when I had looked back to Luke I could see the hidden pain beneath that wall of aloofness he wore as a mask. I smiled. _No family, huh? I guess Cherry was right when she said things were rough all over... _I thought, remembering that young and beautiful red-headed girl who like sunsets and hated fights once more. _It's hard to not have family... _I thought some more. It reminded me of when I had been hiding, not only in Iowa but in Windrixville too. No family made everyday hurt at some point- because I loved my family more than ever.

"Well, then hi Luke! I uh... I'm glad you helped find me..." I said with an awkward smile- a little too awkward because then I ended up having a coughing fit. Soda patted me on the back lightly and I looked at him and Darry, wondering how I would've ever gotten along without them.

"Me... too..." Luke said awkwardly. I looked down and stared at the intricate sewing patterns of the blanket covering me, ready to make something of it just to start a conversation going that didn't include us sitting around like speechless bums; but he beat me to the punch.

"Um, I'm gonna go and get us a snack of some sort..." Luke said quickly. I looked up at him suddenly, with a puzzled expression; _And the awkward feeling continues..._

"Why don't you do that?" Darry hurried him out the door and went with him.

"Heh heh!" I smiled with a weak wave, dismissing them both. As soon as the door closed I sharply turned to face Soda, feeling my ears getting a little red.

"A little warning next time, will ya?" I asked a little hurt that they hadn't told me this before. Soda gave me a _Really? After all this time you still don't get it? _type look- I could see it in his eyes. He was quiet for a minute.

"Well, first off, you aint been up for a while so in a sense we wouldn't have remembered to tell you anyway... Second, Luke was a soc... and one that you definitely knew because of... well you know... And third, he seemed so desperate in helping us- neither me nor Darry found it unreasonable to use his help so we used it," Soda said with finality, he started playing with my hand, and a sad bleary-eyed gaze fell upon his face as he thought some more. "We were desperate too, Pone..."

"But I was kidnapped... By some wierdo psycho path who probably had me out in the middle of nowhere and threw me in a closet after almost killing me with his big meaty hands!" I flailed my hands around and made sure to emphasize 'big meaty hands' with the gestures I was using. I caught what his look meant and squeezed his hand.

"How could he have known where I was, if I was kidnapped...?" I asked softly, feeling my world slowly break away in small pieces floating adrift a big white sea that had already engulfed all of reason's inhabitants...

"That's a different matter..." he said gravely. I opened my mouth up to say something, then all of sudden closed it, for fear that I had already pressed on too much. Instead I lay down and made myself comfortable; Soda got off the bed and helped tuck me in.

"I'm here now..." I said softly. That made him smile.

"Yes... And that's all that matters," he whispered; he leaned over and kissed the top of my head softly, just like mom used to.

"I'm sorry..."

"What for?" he asked, a little concerned. I closed my eyes, and started thinking about shooting the soc; I started thinking about watching him leave the trailer, walking up the side of the huge field in Iowa, looking behind himself just to make sure I wasn't following. I started remembering Darry's angry voice in demand to know where I was when I had been kidnapped... That soft desperate voice begging me not to die... because I was all he had left... And I did nothing to prevent it from happening... I hadn't realized I had said my thoughts aloud, but when I opened my eyes, Soda was already blowing his nose into a second tissue, small tears running down his cheeks. He didn't look at me.

"That wasn't your fault... you had to do what was best for you... I'm sorry, Ponyboy. I'm the one who should be sorry! For leaving you... For not coming out to find you the night you shot Luke... For not being a better brother, like I should be..." he said in a small shaky voice. We both sighed. This was going to be a long and hard life in the next couple months... much healing to take place.

* * *

**_Hey guys I'm super sorry that this chapter is so short but I promise I'll make the next one a whole lot longer... Just wait a little..._**

**_STAY GOLD-_**

**_The Outsiders EXPERT-101_**


	10. Chapter 10

At first I didn't recognize him, though getting that first glimpse of him sparked something in my memory I just couldn't name at the time. It had been such a long while since I had even seen Soda and Darry and I couldn't tell who they were at first when I had woken up- save it be their gentle voices; those caring voices I heard everytime I was pursued by my nightmares or I was too afraid of something terrible happening to someone I loved. But as I focused more on the stranger's facial features I began to find the dreaded familiarity of his dark blue-ringed eyes and a slight grim expression of being in my presence. That was the expression of someone I had never wanted to see as long as I had lived for the rest of my life.

"Hello, Ponyboy," said the stranger in a naturally quiet tone. I felt myself get pale and I started backing up into the wall at the head of the hospital bed, trying to get as far away from him as I could. Soda wrapped his arms around my shoulders and squeezed them hard looking at me and the stranger- by that time he had been back already, but no food. Darry got up, strode over to the stranger and whispered something in his ear. The stranger nodded, then looked at me. Darry put a firm arm on the strangers back.

"WAIT! You _know _him?" I shrieked. How would he know the guy who I had mistakenly shot? The guy who had threatened to kill me? Of all the people he had to know (because he knew practically everyone) he had to know HIM?

"Ponyboy there's nothing to worry about-"

" OH YEAH SURE! There's nothing to worry about when being in the same room with the guy who I shot, who also evidently jumped me too, crippled and still recovering!" I burst out in a bitter and horrified tone. _Doesn't Darry know that this is the guy who made all this happen in the first place?_, I thought foolishly. I wasn't sure of whether or not I should be scared or angry at the stranger standing by my brothers- but I was being torn in half just trying to decide. That same stranger who had scared me into believing I had lost my brothers... That same stranger who had lead me to believing I would never be able to get home and see the gang ever again...

"Pony, this is Luke... Luke Yu..." _such an asian name_... I thought with jealousy rolling my eyes; when I had caught Darry's flash of warning towards me I quit it though. _He looks asian... _I thought observantly.

"Hi Luke..." I mumbled, waving a shaky hand towards him. Luke then relaxed into a smile- he no longer looked like that ruthless, give-him-no-mercy soc that had threatened to kill me in the alley that depressing night. It was as if he had these different sides to him... a pissed off side he always gave greasers, as all socs did... and now, he was showing a- a school friend kind of side, one who never really talks to you, but always smiles everytime you look his way because in some way, you and him were alike... and he knew that...

"You don't need to be sorry for... uh... you know..." he said slowly, twiddling his fingers. I looked down... Sheesh, you know even for a soc who was approved by my brothers to be in this room, he sure still made me feel awkward- like all socs did to me.

"Sorry..." I said involuntarily in a small voice. It seemed to make him laugh, and he looked at Darry and Soda for some guidance as to what to say next. Here comes that awkward feeling again...

"Luke helped us find you..." Soda spoke for him, running his hand along my back softly. Luke stared at the floor(making it look like he had spotted something absolutely fascinating like chinese penny or something) looking a little embarrassed, and Darry slapped his back playfully. He took it as a surprise, but smiled real big-like. _Huh, _I thought suddenly, _He has to be okay for Darry to do that to him!_

"Sure at first we didn't like him, but he proved himself true to the end!" Darry said proudly, as if he was reading my thoughts or something.

"He has no parents or siblings... He came to us because he knew what it felt like to not know where his family was," Soda added in a quiet tone, trying not to remind Luke, I'm sure of it; and when I had looked back to Luke I could see the hidden pain beneath that wall of aloofness he wore as a mask. I smiled. _No family, huh? I guess Cherry was right when she said things were rough all over... _I thought, remembering that young and beautiful red-headed girl who like sunsets and hated fights once more. _It's hard to not have family... _I thought some more. It reminded me of when I had been hiding, not only in Iowa but in Windrixville too. No family made everyday hurt at some point- because I loved my family more than ever.

"Well, then hi Luke! I uh... I'm glad you helped find me..." I said with an awkward smile- a little too awkward because then I ended up having a coughing fit. Soda patted me on the back lightly and I looked at him and Darry, wondering how I would've ever gotten along without them.

"Me... too..." Luke said awkwardly. I looked down and stared at the intricate sewing patterns of the blanket covering me, ready to make something of it just to start a conversation going that didn't include us sitting around like speechless bums; but he beat me to the punch.

"Um, I'm gonna go and get us a snack of some sort..." Luke said quickly. I looked up at him suddenly, with a puzzled expression; _And the awkward feeling continues..._

"Why don't you do that?" Darry hurried him out the door and went with him.

"Heh heh!" I smiled with a weak wave, dismissing them both. As soon as the door closed I sharply turned to face Soda, feeling my ears getting a little red.

"A little warning next time, will ya?" I asked a little hurt that they hadn't told me this before. Soda gave me a _Really? After all this time you still don't get it? _type look- I could see it in his eyes. He was quiet for a minute.

"Well, first off, you aint been up for a while so in a sense we wouldn't have remembered to tell you anyway... Second, Luke was a soc... and one that you definitely knew because of... well you know... And third, he seemed so desperate in helping us- neither me nor Darry found it unreasonable to use his help so we used it," Soda said with finality, he started playing with my hand, and a sad bleary-eyed gaze fell upon his face as he thought some more. "We were desperate too, Pone..."

"But I was kidnapped... By some wierdo psycho path who probably had me out in the middle of nowhere and threw me in a closet after almost killing me with his big meaty hands!" I flailed my hands around and made sure to emphasize 'big meaty hands' with the gestures I was using. I caught what his look meant and squeezed his hand.

"How could he have known where I was, if I was kidnapped...?" I asked softly, feeling my world slowly break away in small pieces floating adrift a big white sea that had already engulfed all of reason's inhabitants...

"That's a different matter..." he said gravely. I opened my mouth up to say something, then all of sudden closed it, for fear that I had already pressed on too much. Instead I lay down and made myself comfortable; Soda got off the bed and helped tuck me in.

"I'm here now..." I said softly. That made him smile.

"Yes... And that's all that matters," he whispered; he leaned over and kissed the top of my head softly, just like mom used to.

"I'm sorry..."

"What for?" he asked, a little concerned. I closed my eyes, and started thinking about shooting the soc; I started thinking about watching him leave the trailer, walking up the side of the huge field in Iowa, looking behind himself just to make sure I wasn't following. I started remembering Darry's angry voice in demand to know where I was when I had been kidnapped... That soft desperate voice begging me not to die... because I was all he had left... And I did nothing to prevent it from happening... I hadn't realized I had said my thoughts aloud, but when I opened my eyes, Soda was already blowing his nose into a second tissue, small tears running down his cheeks. He didn't look at me.

"That wasn't your fault... you had to do what was best for you... I'm sorry, Ponyboy. I'm the one who should be sorry! For leaving you... For not coming out to find you the night you shot Luke... For not being a better brother, like I should be..." he said in a small shaky voice. We both sighed. This was going to be a long and hard life in the next couple months... much healing to take place.

* * *

**_Hey guys I'm super sorry that this chapter is so short but I promise I'll make the next one a whole lot longer... Just wait a little..._**

**_STAY GOLD-_**

**_The Outsiders EXPERT-101_**


	11. NOTICE

The Outsiders EXPERT-101

July 26th, Tuesday: 2011

WORK IN PROGRESS NOTICE

Hey, guys i am sooo sorry I've got a lot to catch up on but I will be continuing on all my stories and finishing them for you guys 'cause you're all so awesome and have been so patient I love you guys for supporting me in my writing; I've just had other things to get done and I'm trying to plot out the rest of my storylines in ALL of my stories so thanks for waiting!

Personal apologies for those who asked me to write stories for them I will get to that and after all is done I've got a little surprise for you all so thanks for reading!

3Britt


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